Author Laila Al Bellucci at the invitation of Sultan Qaboos University (SQU) recently conducted a workshop to English Language and Literature students about Mirabella and the Pearl of Chulothe.
Here is a video of images, reviews and excerpts from Mirabella and the Pearl of Chulothe:
14 April 2012, Muscat
US Ambassador to Oman, Dr. Richard J. Schmierer and Laila Al Bellucci
At the invitation of the US Embassy, Omani novelist Laila Al-Bellucci presented the US Ambassador to Oman, Dr. Richard J. Schmierer, with a signed copy of her new fiction book for children and young adults entitled “Mirabella and the Pearl of Chulothe” brought to the international market by US publisher Adducent, Inc., a Florida based publisher, and ArkWatch Holdings LLC, an Arizona based intellectual property company. Laila explained to H.E. the Ambassador, “the US publishers believed in my work and helped me bring my book to the market and this is a beacon for other budding Omani authors to do the same; I am grateful to Adducent for giving me this fantastic opportunity to publish my work.”
Mirabella and the Pearl of Chulothe is Laila’s debut novel which sets the stage for an adventure that unfolds over four more books set in locations throughout the world that smartly uses myths and legends from the region as part of the story. Laila briefed H.E. the US Ambassador that there is code within the book termed a ‘codilleom’ which when decoded by the readers leads them to the book’s next location. H.E. the US Ambassador asked Laila whether any of the books would be located in Oman but Laila said the codilleom needs to be unravelled to get the answer! Laila is currently writing the second book in the series.
Mirabella and the Pearl of Chulothe is available through several online booksellers such as Amazon, Barnes & Noble and W.H.Smith and soon to be stocked in Oman.
Listen as Ms. Lynne Stuart reads an extract from Mirabella and the Pearl of Chulothe.
We just got this message/comment via Facebook about Mirabella and the Pearl of Chulothe (we’ve received a couple of dozen with the same sentiment and request):
From May Al K regarding Mirabella and The Pearl of Chulothe
23 minutes agoI LOVE THIS BOOK BY FAR BETTR THEN HARRY POTTER! PLZ MAKE A MOVIE PLZ!
(Dennis Lowery’s speech on 15 March 2012 at the book launch of Mirabella and the Pearl of Chulothe):
(Left to right) His Highness Sayyid Faisal bin Turki Al Said, Dennis Lowery and Laila Al Bellucci at the Al Bustan Palace in Muscat, Oman
In 1980, as a young man serving the United States Navy, my ship made a port call to Muscat. I was only twenty years old but had already traveled to a dozen countries—several in the Middle East and the gulf region. My first day visiting Muscat I knew this was a special place above all others I’d been to.
It had all the majesty and history of famous places I had visited but had one thing I sensed the others lacked. It touched my soul where the others had not. Perhaps it was something carried on the wind or that lived in the mountains or deep in the soil and sands—I don’t know where it came from—but felt it.
A peace and calm along with a strong pulse that makes one appreciate life.
This past Monday, my first morning here at the beautiful Al Bustan Palace (a wonderful Ritz-Carlton property), while having coffee on the terrace facing the sea, I felt it again. It made me stop, hold my breath for a long minute, and then exhale. I looked at the blue sky above azure water framed by rugged mountains—and had a clear distinct moment when all I thought was how beautiful life and our world is. For a moment that still lingers—even now while speaking to you—I feel like I’m twenty years old again. Calm and at peace with bright hope for the future.
This made me reflect on what led me back to Oman.
Words…
Words brought me here again. Something so simple but so powerful.
My vocation as a publisher and writer has taken me to many beautiful places—and it has brought me back to a place I remembered so fondly from my past and to a feeling that often gets lost or buried in the hectic world we all live in.
I believe that words and stories are the most powerful force in the world. The words we read, the words we say and the words we hear can transport us to our past, can make our present a better place and gives us a sense of hope for our future.
A wise Omani man told me recently that in order to make our world better, “we must focus on and talk about humans… the people.” I agree with him. Not abstract ideas or perfect world scenarios, not government or political agendas. We must talk about the people.
Improving our life and our world is completely about how we act and interact with each other. It’s about humanity.
As humans, we are more alike than we are different. And it is common experience and interests that becomes a bond that establishes a better understanding of each other. With understanding comes better communication and better communication shortens the path to mutual respect. Something the world needs more of.
There is no better way to make a connection to our collective common experience than through stories. As a publisher and writer, my focus is to bring to life stories that contain powerful and positive messages presented to the reader within an entertaining story.
I am so very proud of Laila and her book. Its message of inclusivity and acceptance of all people and cultures is compelling and complements another fiction series we are working on called Serpentauria: Ark of Extinction, with its message about taking better care of our planet, its resources, animals and each other.
These two fiction series will have adventures that bring the main characters to Oman and through them I hope to spread to others what I feel here—peace and hope. I cannot think of a finer setting for the words to come to life for the reader.
Through our books and efforts we will promote a positive message and do our part to make our world better… one word at a time.
Thank you Laila for such a wonderful book and for being my friend. Through you and Mirabella I have the opportunity to be here today, in a very special place, with a very special people. I believe 32 years ago part of Oman stayed with me and coming back awoke it—and it feels wonderful.
Thank you all for coming to share this moment with us, for your hospitality and that of the Al Bustan Palace and most of all for the opportunity to come back to Oman and feel its beauty again in my heart. I know I will return and look forward to that day.
Great book I’ve enjoyed reading it can
t wait for the 2nd part. The author has done a great job and I don’t know if she is aware of how much of a talented writer she really is. This is the ideal book book to read for all the Harry Potter fans suffering from withdrawal symptoms after the last book/movie. I really hope the series becomes a bestseller.
We’ve setup a Facebook page for Mirabella and the Pearl of Chulothe. It’s the first book in a series that has Mirabella and her friends on a true hero’s journey around the world. They discover strength within themselves, faith in each other and the power that comes from standing up and doing what is right.
Our latest reviewer commented:
The story is told with such energy, imagination and irrepressible suspense, that it captivated me right from the start, brilliant work of fiction. A must for all fantasy fans, both adults and children.. struck of brilliance by the author, Mirabella and the pearl of Chulothe is where East meets West in a powerful sense of secrets, mysteries & imagination.
From The Forbidden Journals (where it in part talks about the secrets of Delphion Grey) – more on this to come for readers of the Mirabella Series:
“The ivy creeping up the ancient walls of the castle is rustling and whispering as the evening breeze sweeps over it. High up the tendrils climb, past mullioned windows and quaint devices, until they reach even to the old tower, and twine round it, and push through the long apertures in the masonry of the walls of the haunted chamber. It is here that the shadows cast their heaviest gloom. All this corner of the old tower is wrapped in darkness, as though to obscure the scene of terrible crimes of past centuries.”
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